


I'll Be Home for Christmas

by lovetheblazer



Category: Glee RPF
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Pets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-19
Updated: 2015-12-19
Packaged: 2018-05-07 14:17:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5459486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovetheblazer/pseuds/lovetheblazer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Advent Prompt #18: Because of work, Darren hasn’t been home properly for months. Brian is not amused and makes his feelings known.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'll Be Home for Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> Day 18 of the Advent Challenge I'm doing daily through Christmas Eve. Prompts have been anonymously submitted by my followers.
> 
> I managed to post the fic just in the nick of time despite driving 600 miles cross country home for the holidays myself today, so forgive my indulgence with the title name :)

Darren calls Chris the second he leaves the airport, bleary eyed and jet lagged in the back of a cab. “Should I be bringing home treats for Brian and Cooper? Because I totally didn't buy anything for them, if so.”

“What, like a commemorative tote bag from the Chicago airport?” Chris snarks back. “A keychain? Something from the duty free store?”

“Shut up. I don't know. Like, dog and cat appropriate toys or treats? Something to endear them to me?”

“They're animals, Darren,” Chris says very matter-of-factly.

“You say this like you don't treat them like tiny children. You dress them in themed costumes from every major holiday, don't act like _I'm_ the crazy one here.”

Chris sighs heavily. “I don't know. I doubt gifts are really the way into their hearts. Just be prepared for them not to remember you, okay?”

“Wait, they might not remember me? Seriously? What the fuck, I've spent months feeding them and petting them and taking Cooper on walks,” Darren grumbles, vaguely horrified.

“You also haven't been here in three months,” Chris explains. It's not meant as a judgment but Darren still feels the statement very keenly.

“Surely it hasn't been that long,” Darren manages, but even as he's saying it, he's doing the mental math. Chris is right. Darren's certainly seen Chris more recently than that in New York and Paris, but it's been three months since he's been in Los Angeles.

“It has.”

“I definitely should be bringing home gifts, then,” Darren replies.

“It's going to take time, not souvenir trinkets. Cooper might be fine with you, who knows. He seems to love just about everyone minus the FedEx guy and the postman. Brian will probably sulk or ignore you for a while, but he still does that to me if I'm gone longer than a week, so it's nothing personal,” Chris lays out for Darren.

“Are you trying to moderate my expectations, Christopher? Like I'm your ex-husband and the absent father to two young children?” Darren jokes, only half kidding.

“Pretty much. How close are you?”

“Twenty minutes out, traffic permitting?” Darren estimates.

“See you then.”

* * *

When Darren walks up to the front door, he can see Cooper and Chris waiting for him. Chris pulls open the door with one hand and holds Cooper's leash with the other to keep him from bounding out into traffic while Darren drags his suitcase inside and drops it in the entryway to greet Chris properly with a kiss.

“Hey, I wasn't done kissing you,” Chris protests when Darren starts to pull away.

“Well, I wasn't done kissing you either, but Cooper is licking my hand and nudging my thigh with his nose, so I think maybe he wants in on the action?” Darren tries to explain as he kneels down at Cooper's height.

“So you decided to stop kissing me so you could kiss my dog instead? Wow, I see how it is,” Chris huffs.

“Um, this kissing is more of a one-way street,” Darren protests weakly as Cooper licks his face with his slobbery tongue. “Good news is that I think he remembers me?”

“Uh, in addition to your face he also licks his own butt, so I'm not sure if that's really proof of anything definitive,” Chris laughs.

“But like, he hasn't been licking his own butt super recently or anything, right?” Darren asks, shuddering in mock horror.

“No comment. I'm sort of going to demand that you wash your face before I kiss you again just to be on the safe side,” Chris chuckles.

“Well, it would appear that I'm back in Cooper's good graces, assuming that I ever dropped out of the rankings to begin with. What are the odds that I can go two for two?” Darren wonders aloud. “Where is Brian, anyway?”

Chris subtly points towards Brian lurking in the corner of the living room, half hidden behind the ottoman. “You mean you haven't felt your hair standing on end with how much silent hatred he's been shooting your way?”

“He doesn't hate me, surely? Like what if I just...” Darren trails off as he tries to walk over to Brian. The second he even _looks_ fully in his direction, Brian slinks off towards the kitchen. Undeterred, Darren tries to follow after him and Brian darts behind the couch so Darren can't get near him.

“Okay yeah, maybe he does hate me. Should I like, try to talk to him or what?” he asks Chris, at a loss.

“No, when he gets pissy at me for leaving, I usually have to just let him come to me. It's basically the opposite of a staring contest, where I have to sit on the couch with a blanket in my lap and all his favorite toys and then pretend like I don't see him until he's already in my lap and purring? It's weird,” Chris explains.

“I think I prefer Cooper's method better. It's sloppy but efficient,” Darren sighs.

“There's one silver lining, though,” Chris murmurs.

“Oh?”

“I don't have to share you with anyone right now. I get to monopolize all your affection, at least briefly.” Chris grins, patting the couch next to him. “Just as soon as you wash your face, that is.”

“Naturally.”

* * *

After monopolizing Chris's affection thoroughly for the rest of the evening, Darren wakes up the next morning to a little “present” from Brian. It's horrifying enough that his first impulse is to wake Chris up and show it to him.

“Dude, your cat is a little shit,” he groans as he shakes Chris awake.

Chris cracks one eye open and considers Darren for a moment. “Literally or figuratively?”

“Um, yes. Both,” Darren grumbles.

“Where are we talking?”

“My suitcase,” Darren whines. “I'm too jet-lagged to deal with this.”

“Well, nothing quite says welcome home like a suitcase litter box, right?” Chris jokes.

“I knew I should have brought home presents. Maybe if I had...”

“Oh my god, enough with the presents,” Chris interrupts. “You know, if you think about it another way, maybe Brian just wanted to ensure you didn't leave again? Like he's thinking, 'if I pee all over his suitcase, he can't pack it up and leave again' or something?”

“Aww, that's almost sweet. Minus the ruined clothes and grossness factor. I still think maybe some good old fashioned bribery might endear him to me a little better. Can we at least _try it_ my way?”

Chris frowns, considering. “What's your way again? I'm still half asleep from our late night activities.”

“I go to a pet store and buy some of those catnip mice he loves and some cat treats,” Darren reports.

Chris opens his mouth, ready to add a protest. “Yes, I know, I know. I'll buy the organic, hypoallergenic kind of treats,” Darren continues, anticipating Chris's next statement.

“Well, in that case, go for it,” Chris finally agrees. “And if you're already going to be out, maybe grab some pastries and coffee for us, too?”

Darren nods. “I'm going to have to borrow clothes from you, since I'm not even going _near_ my suitcase right now.”

“Go for it. Aren't you so glad to be home?” Chris asks, half kidding.

“I really am,” Darren replies honestly. “No place I'd rather be.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> [Share fic on Tumblr](http://lovetheblazer.tumblr.com/post/135489069825/ill-be-home-for-christmas)
> 
> Read Previous Advent Fics on: [AO3](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/Advent_Fics_by_lovetheblazer) or [Tumblr](http://lovetheblazer.tumblr.com/tagged/advent-fics-by-lovetheblazer)


End file.
